Otagi Nenbutsu-ji Temple

This peaceful Buddhist temple is nestled atop a hill, surrounded by more than 1,000 striking stone sculptures. Remote and off-the-beaten tourist track, it feels like an oasis of calm, devoid of the masses of visitors that flock to Kyoto’s more central sites.

But things haven’t always been so serene. A typhoon decimated the original eighth-century temple in the 1950s, destroying parts of the structure. It was then decided that the temple would be rebuilt in a different, safer location.

Rather than abandon all hope for the ancient temple, one of its priests, Kocho Nishimura, began rebuilding it piece by piece atop its new patch of land. He did more than just reconstruct the building. As he worked, also added Buddhist stone carvings to the property. He also taught the town people how to create the carvings, so their work is now mixed in with his own.

Now, 1,200 stone statues depicting Buddha’s disciples fill the space. They spill down the hillside and line the paths like peaceful, moss-covered guardians. Gazing into the serene stone faces is an almost meditative experience.

The temple grounds contain multiple small shrines, such as Fureai Kannon, which contains a gold Kannon Boddhisatva statue where visitors are encouraged to get up close and personal.  Since sacred statues at Buddhist temples typically cannot be touched by visitors, Nishimura created this statue to be inclusive towards worshippers with visual impairments, allowing them to connect with the deity and appreciate the sculpture's beauty through their fingertips. All visitors can touch the statue if they wish to, reflecting upon the Buddhist principles of a mutual “give and take”.